The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — Bobby Witt Jr. beat out an infield single to drive in the go-ahead run and send the Kansas City Royals into an AL Division Series with a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles for a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series.

The Royals advance to face the AL East champion New York Yankees. Game 1 is Saturday in the Bronx. Witt provided the go-ahead RBI in each of Kansas City’s wins in the Wild Card Series after hitting .332 during the regular season to win the AL batting title.

Cedric Mullins homered for the Orioles, who fell to 0-5 during two quick playoff exits the past two years. Baltimore has lost its last 10 postseason games.

Tigers advance

HOUSTON — Andy Ibanez hit a tiebreaking three-run double in Detroit’s four-run eighth inning, and the Tigers swept the Houston Astros with a 5-2 victory in Game 2 of their AL Wild Card Series.

Parker Meadows homered as Detroit ended Houston’s run of seven consecutive appearances in the AL Championship Series. It was a sweet moment for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who led Houston to a championship in 2017 and was fired in the aftermath of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

Next up for the wild-card Tigers is a trip to Cleveland to take on the AL Central champions in a best-of-five AL Division Series. Game 1 is on Saturday.

All tied up

MILWAUKEE — Jackson Chourio tied the game in the eighth with his second homer of the night and Garrett Mitchell delivered a two-run shot later in the inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets that evened their NL Wild Card Series.

The teams will play a decisive Game 3 on Thursday night. The Brewers will attempt to become the first team to rally win a best-of-three Wild Card Series after losing the opener since MLB went to this expanded playoff format in 2022.

Padres move on

SAN DIEGO — Catcher Kyle Higashioka’s solo home run started a five-run rally with two outs in the second inning against Max Fried and the San Diego Padres held on to sweep the Atlanta Braves with a 5-4 win in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series.

Manny Machado added a two-run, bases-loaded double and Jackson Merrill, a contender for NL Rookie of the Year, followed with a two-run triple as the sellout crowd of 47,705 — the largest in Petco Park history — roared.

The Padres, who eliminated the the Dodgers in 2022 from the playoffs, advance to face Shohei Ohtani and the NL West rival and top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in a National League Division Series starting Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.